English
seal
Seal comes from Middle English sel ‘seal (pinniped)’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *selhaz.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*selhaz‘seal (animal)’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*selh‘seal (animal)’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150seolh‘seal (animal)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sel‘seal (pinniped)’
- Englishtodayseal
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*selhaz‘seal (animal)’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*selh‘seal (animal)’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150seolh‘seal (animal)’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sel‘seal (pinniped)’
- Englishtodayseal
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *selk- ‘to pull’
through Middle English sel ‘seal (pinniped)’
Another origin of seal
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sek-‘to cut’uncertain
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*segnom‘sign’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsignum‘sign’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEsigillumdiminutive of signum
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400seel
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500sel
- Englishtodayseal
Another origin of seal
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500*selenreconstructed
- Englishtodayseal
From Middle English *selen (suggested by Middle English sele (‘harness; hame’)), perhaps from Old English sǣlan (‘to bind’).
Today it means
noun A pinniped (Pinnipedia), particularly an earless seal (true seal) or eared seal.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *selhaz / seal